China’s militarized fishing fleet is Beijing’s analogue to Russia’s ‘little green men’. The protection of ‘innocent actors’ from local authorities (for instance, the Indonesian Coast Guard lawfully defending its EEZ) is only the latest event in which Chinese coast guard vessels were empowered to conduct acts of war.

Article 62 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) stipulates that “Nationals of other States fishing in the exclusive economic zone shall comply with the conservation measures and with the other terms and conditions established in the laws and regulations of the coastal State.” Foremost among those ‘other terms’ for fishermen must be having permission to fish inside another nation’s EEZ in the first place.

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/chinas-super-strategy-dominate-south-china-sea-little-green-15708